


The Last Concerns of the Day

by Kalloway



Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Gen, Post-Conquest
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-13
Updated: 2018-10-13
Packaged: 2019-07-27 09:33:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,039
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16216289
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kalloway/pseuds/Kalloway
Summary: A normal, abnormal evening for the King of Nohr and his retainers.





	The Last Concerns of the Day

**Author's Note:**

  * For [taichara](https://archiveofourown.org/users/taichara/gifts).



"Interesting. Thank you, Peri," Xander said as she finished up her report. She'd turned in a few pages as well, which he'd read over as soon as he could. He trusted her to have hit the highlights, though, and with an appropriate amount of color. 

"No problem, Lord Xander," Peri replied with a smile. "Anything else you need me to take care of?" 

Xander considered the rest of his own itinerary for the day. It was late enough that he'd finished with meetings, at least. Now it was just a few hours of reading and notes, and removing his cat, Coco, from his papers as often as necessary. 

"Not tonight. Have a pleasant evening." 

"Sure thing. I'll-- Well, I do have a couple new recipes to try. I'll bring you goodies in the morning, okay?" Peri beamed at him. 

"That would be lovely," Xander said. He meant it, and after a few more minor pleasantries, stood to see Peri off for the night. He knew whatever she brought by would be delicious and though he wouldn't readily admit it to anyone aside from her or Laslow, Xander really did appreciate this part of Peri as much as any other. 

Coco was already sniffing at the report Peri had delivered by the time Xander reached for it. She'd been spending time in the slums, chronicling conditions and what improvements had been made with the first wave of funding he'd sent that way. As he'd suspected, and confirmed by Peri, some of it had been squandered and stolen, but most of it was now making a difference. It would be simple enough to earmark funds for more improvements, at a constant but not jarring pace. Peri had, also, apparently made quite a few new friends among the residents and they were all improving themselves together. 

Xander reached to scritch between Coco's ears and smiled ever-so-slightly. Coco, who had curled up neatly between piles of papers this time, opened one eye to peer at him for a long moment before closing it again and apparently going back to sleep. 

"And yet you'll be in my bed before I will." 

"What was that, milord?" 

Xander looked over to see Laslow just slipping into the room. He smiled and Xander just shook his head. 

"Peri told me it was my turn," Laslow explained as he stretched his arms above his head. "She's getting impressively good at catching me at... questionable times. Also, don't ever let her help you stretch." 

Xander raised an eyebrow. 

"At least I do bend that way? And if I didn't, I would now?" Laslow pulled a chair over to the desk and looked from papers to Coco and back again. "What do we have tonight?" 

"These two, at least," Xander said as he gestured to two sets of papers clipped together. "Then we can... move along to other things." 

Laslow nodded. "Absolutely, milord."

"Though I do need to make a few adjustments to tomorrow's itinerary, which is surprisingly not underneath Coco at the moment." Xander had already made revisions to it, entries neatly crossed off or moved and others added in. He brushed Coco's tail aside, leading to another one-eyed moment of staring, as he picked it up and offered it to Laslow. 

Laslow was quiet as he looked over the page, giving Xander time to reach for the first set of papers. This had to do with Cheve, which was not his favourite thing to tackle. But it was his responsibility. Leo would have the unfortunate honor of handling the personal meetings, though. Xander just had to draft everything, figure out how to finance the necessary reparations, and... 

He sighed, which caused Laslow to peer at him over the page. 

"It's not an impossible schedule," Laslow said, before glancing at the pages Xander was holding. "Oh. Is that...?" 

"For the meeting in the morning, yes. Cheve... I thankfully just need to read them over. Same for the next set, which is smaller and for an afternoon meeting," Xander explained. 

"Understood."

"Peri has promised to bring breakfast." 

"Then it'll be a good day." 

Xander went back to the papers, quoting a few sections to Laslow as he read. Once or twice, he reached to pet Coco, though Coco had stopped reacting to him. Still, there was something nice about having Coco there. 

Finally, he made it to the end. Laslow had already put the next day's itinerary back on the desk and moved off to the side to resume stretching. Laslow's movements were always impressive and Xander hesitated to interrupt him. Even if it wasn't a proper dance, it was still something to watch. Xander didn't think that even with focused practice would he be able to bend or move quite like Laslow could. 

Xander wrote down a few lines of quick notes, still impeccable, before glancing back to Laslow again. 

"Milord?" Laslow pulled himself from a backbend and offered his usual smile. 

"May I count on you tonight?" Xander questioned. 

"As always, Lord Xander." Laslow replied. 

Xander nodded and reached for one more small piece of paper and wrote a quick note. He trusted Laslow; it wouldn't fall into the wrong hands. 

There was no point in folding it. Laslow took it to read and, with a swift nod, was on his way, folding as he went. Xander suspected it would end up given to the next bit of flame Laslow passed, but there was no need to question. 

By the time he'd readied for sleep, Coco had shifted from desk to bed without being seen. Xander scritched between Coco's ears a few more times as he settled in. While it was tempting to read a bit for his own enjoyment, sleep seemed the better option. 

Once he'd extinguished all but one distant lantern, he fell asleep without delay. It was quite dark in the room when he woke again, to soft footsteps. 

"It's done, milord. You were correct." 

"Come then, rest," Xander replied just as softly. 

Laslow was not warm at first, but Xander knew the blankets and Coco would take care of that. His last concerns for the day had been handled. 

And he had a few more hours until the concerns for the next day began.


End file.
